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By Vicki Sternfeld-Rossi
The Times 

Breaking Point, Boiling Point, What's the Point?

 

Lane Gwinn

Mashup of boiling points.

My sister and I are good friends when she's not trying to run my life. Being petite and the middle child, she's decided it's the reason (excuse) for her bossiness. Luckily, we agree on politics and most social issues, one of which is the environment. I proudly give her kudos because she does put her money where her mouth is. She has driven an electric vehicle for years (starting with a Volt and recently upgrading to a Tesla), updated her yard many years ago to be drought-tolerant, and she has installed solar panels eliminating electricity costs. Recently, she and her husband embarked on a guest bathroom remodeling project, and I discovered her breaking point; it's the showerhead.

California has stringent water usage rules, mandating low-flow toilets and water-saving showerheads, both of which are annoying. She rationalized that she deserved a non-California compliant showerhead since she is so conscientious in all her other choices. She called me to see if I would assist in her flagrant defiance of the rules. The plan was for her to order an unacceptable shower head from a vendor in Washington, have it shipped to me, and then I would forward it to her in California. I agreed because although it is not my breaking point, it is nice to have a decent shower when I'm visiting her.

After completing the showerhead scheme, we moved on to our normally non-confrontational topics of conversation; books we've read and TV shows or movies we're watching. She mentioned that she recently re-watched (probably for the 100th time), My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Now she says that although the music is wonderful, the story is unforgivably misogynistic and objectifies women.

She found my breaking point! I have always been a strong supporter of women's rights. I marched in the first Women's March after staying up all night knitting those crazy pink hats for my friends and me. But jeez, cut the movie a little slack; it came from another era and is based on the story of Pygmalion from Greek mythology. Women's rights be damned when it comes to Rex Harrison, who, along with Cary Grant, I think are the two sexiest men ever: they could've objectified me any day!

Daniel and I are now up to our eyeballs as we open the Weinhard Café. And here I find Daniel's breaking point, which starts at boiling and implodes from there. Dealing with vendors, setting up propane, completing credit applications, rearranging the kitchen, planning menus, answering phone calls, answering my questions while killing weeds, and running to the dump keep him at a steady boil.

But the real point is that there are benefits too. Late Tuesday afternoon, we had a visit from Pete Thorson of Dumas Station Wines, with wine in hand. Someone must taste, sample, and decide which wines to serve, and yay, it's us! We have met with Jeff Von Bargen of Walla Walla Vintners to taste their wines as well. So, while we will surmount the hurdles of the opening, we have tasted some good wine in the process! Maybe that's the point of owning a restaurant?

 

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